Cover for tap opening of beer kegs



Nov. 12, 1957 M. K. GOETZ 2,312,876

COVER FOR TAP OPENING OF BEER KEGS Filed Oct. 5, 1955 INVENTOR. E y M/Mae/ W/ oefz A TTO United States Patent 2,812,876 COVER FUR TAP OPENING OF BEER KEGS Michael Karl Goetz, St. Joseph, Mo.

Application October 5, 1955, Serial No. 538,742

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-40) This invention relates generally to the field of containers for beer or the like and, more particularly, to cover structure for use on beer kegs to shield and protect the tap opening portion thereof.

It is the primary object of thisinvention to provide cover structure adapted for protecting the tap opening of a keg from damage during transportation or storage, for excluding dust and foreign matter from the vicinity of such tap opening and for preventing inadvertent displacement of the cork normally employed to seal such opening until the keg is tapped.

It is another important object of this invention to provide such cover structure which may be conveniently and positively emplaced upon a keg and which may be readily removed from the keg when the latter is tobe tapped.

It is another important object of this invention to provide such cover structure which may be manufactured at low cost and in large quantities with a minimum of material and processing.

It is another important object of this invention to provide such cover structure which is adapted, when installed on a beer keg, to not only cover the tap opening of the keg but to effect a positive, protective seal between the cover and parts of the keg surrounding such tap opening.

It is still another important object of this invention to provide such cover structure which may be easily and eifectively cleaned for re-use.

Still other important objects of this invention, including significant details of construction, will be made clear or become apparent from the accompanying drawing and the description of the invention that follows.

in the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a beer keg having cover structure as contemplated by this invention installed thereon, parts being broken away and shown in cross section for purposes of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the keg with cover structure installed thereon as in Fig. 1, such sectional view being taken on a diameter line of the keg and cover structure;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the keg and cover structure taken on irregular line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on irregular line IV-IV of Fig. 1 and showing in elevation the tap or outlet port stub pipe, the cover structure not being shown in this view for the sake of simplicity and to avoid repetition; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cover structure per se showing same in a position inverted from that which it will normally assume when installed on the top of a keg.

Referring now to the various figures of the accompanying drawing and the identifying numerals shown thereon, a beer keg is generally designated by the numeral and a cover made in accordance with this invention is generally designated by the numeral 20.

Kew it} is of substantially conventional form, being constructed of aluminum or other metal, and includes a side wall 12, a bottom wall (not shown) and a top wall generally designated by the numeral 14. Top wall 14 includes a flat, annular rim portion 16 adjacent and integral with the upper extremity of side wall 12 and a sunken inner portion 18 disposed inwardly of or normally below the plane of rim 16. Inner portion 13 includes a normally downwardly extending, annular, band-like portion 22 integral with the innermost extremity of rim 16 and a generally concavo-convex, annular head 24 integral with and extending convexly in a normally upward direction from the innermost extremity of band-like portion 22, the outermost extremity of head 24 being disposed normally below or in sunken relation to the plane of rim 15.

Head 24 is provided with a centrally located, integral, normally downwardly extending, annular, band-like, flange portion 26 defining an outlet portion receiving recess 28. The innermost extremity of flange portion 26 has integral therewith and extending inwardly therefrom an annular plate 39. Integral with the innermost extremity of plate 36 and extending in a normally upright direction therefrom centrally of recess 28 is a substantially cylindrical, tubular, tap receiving, outlet port stub 32 provided with an outlet opening 34 extending therethrough, it being noted that the normally uppermost extremity of the outlet stub or pipe 32. is disposed within recess 28 and slightly sunken below the level of the innermost extremity of the head 24.

The outlet port stub 32 is provided at its normally uppermost extremity with a pair of opposed, segmental, outwardly extending, undercut flanges 36 and 38. A normally upright outwardly extending flange 4t? is provided on stub 32 for each of flanges 36 and 38 respectively and extends from the clockwisemost extremity of the latter along the stub 32 in parallelism with the axis thereof. Each of the segmental flanges 36 and 38 is provided with a slightly inclined under-surface 42.

As will be known to those skilled in the art the outlet stub 32 and its flanges 36, 38 and 40, all of which are preferably formed integrally therewith, are utilized for receiving, mounting and effecting a seal with the tapping or beverage withdrawing mechanism (not shown) which is customarily used with the keg 10 for withdrawing the contained beverage from the latter. When the keg 10 has been filled with beverage at the brewery, the outlet opening 34 is customarily sealed with a cork 44, which remains in place during shipment and storage and until the keg it) is to be tapped and the withdrawing mechanism installed thereon for dispensing of the contained beverage. At the time of such tapping, the cork 44 is normally driven into the keg it) and the above mentioned withdrawing mechanism installed upon stub 32, it being understood that such mechanism includes parts engageable in bayonet-like fashion with the under-surfaces 42 or flanges 36 and 33, the flanges 40 serving as stops to limit the rotation of such parts during installation of such withdrawing mechanism on the keg 10.

Since the cork 44 is customarily driven into the interior of the keg it) before the dispensing of beverage from the latter, the necessity for shielding the cork 44 to maintain the same in sanitary condition will be evident. Similarly, since the above mentioned withdrawing mechanism is coupled with keg It) by parts disposed upon stub 32 and within recess 28, the desirability of maintainin" said portions of the keg L) in clean condition will be appreciated. Moreover, since the beverage within container 16 may be under some pressure which would cause such beverage to escape from outlet opening 34 even if the keg 10 were upright in the event the cork 44 were displaced, the need for protecting cork 44 from such displacement during shipment or-storage is apparent. Finally in this regard, since kegs are normally used and re-used many times and the flanges 36, 38 and 40 of stub 32, which are ditficult to repair because of their sunken disposition within the recess 28, must be protected against damage, the desirability of shielding same during transportation and pre tapping handling will be manifest.

Referring now more particularly to the improved cover structure contemplated by this invention, it may first be noted that such cover 26 is preferably integrally formed of a single piece of aluminum or other suitable metal which may be spun or/ and stamped to the desired configuration to be described. conceivably, the cover 20 could be formed of certain strong plastic materials adapted for being manufactured by molding or other processes familiar to those in the plastic manufacturing field. It is significant, however, that the material used in forming the cover 20, besides being resistant to breakage and wear, should have slightly resilient characteristics which are utilized in effecting a dust-proof seal between the cover 20 and the keg 10, as will hereinafter be more fully explained.

The cover 20 is circular and generally concave-convex. A centered, annular channel 46 is stamped or otherwise formed in the cover 20 extending into the cover 20 from the convex side thereof and presenting an annular embossment generally designated 47 on the concave side thereof. Channel 46 defines on cover 20, proceeding inwardly from the outermost edge 48 thereof, an outermost annular concave-convex portion 50, a concavely arcuate, annular flange portion 52 extending laterally from the concave side or face (designated by the numeral 54) of cover 20, a convexly arcuate, annular rim portion 56 substantially in the plane of the outermost edge 48, an arcuate, band-like portion 58 of substantially straight cross section extending from rim 56 back in the direction of and substantially to the plane of the inner extremity of the convex side or face 60 presented by portion 50, and a flat, circular disk portion 62 interconnecting the extremity of section 58 proximate said plane. As will be clear particularly from Fig. 5 the band-like portion 58 and the disk portion 62 define a recess generally designated 64 in the center of the concave face 50 of cover structure 20.

A pair of opposed, inwardly extending protuberances or ears 66 and 68 are provided on the innermost side of band-like portion 58 and are spaced from the disk portion 62. Ears 66 and 68 may obviously be formed intgerally with the band-like portion 58 by stamping or could be otherwise formed in any suitable fashion. It is significant that the inwardly protruding ears 66 and 68 extend inwardly a sufficient distance to underlie the flanges 36 and 38 of outlet stub pipe 32 when the structure 20 is placed upon the keg 10. It is similarly important that the spacing of protuberances 66 and 68 from disk portion 62 of structure 20 be such that, when the structure 20 is emplaced upon the keg 10, the protuberances 66 and 68 will engage with the under-surfaces 42 of flanges 36 and 38 to hold the structure 20 on the keg 10 and will engage also with the flanges to iimit rotation of the cover 20 upon the keg 10. It is further deemed to be of importance in a preferred embodiment of the cover structure 20 that the curvature of the concave face 54 of cover portion be greater than the curvature of the normally uppermost convex surface of head 24 of keg 19, so that when the cover structure 20 is installed upon the keg 10 with the protruding ears 66 and 68 engaging under-surfaces 42 of flanges 36 and 38, the portion 50 of cover 20 will be flexed against its yielding resiliency to establish a tight, dustproof seal between edge 48 of structure 20 and the mentioned normally uppermost surface of head 24 of keg 10. Obviously, during such installation of the cover 20 upon keg 10, a second seal is effected between the concave face v54 of portion 50 of cover 20 and the innermost extremity of the u e o x rface f hea 4.

In operation, the keg 10 is filled with beer or the like and the cork 44 firmly emplaced Within outlet opening 34. The cover structure 20 may then be installed upon keg 10 by emplacing the same with the uppermost extremity of stub pipe 32 received within the recess 64 of cover 20 and with the protruding ears 66 and 68 aligned with the spaces between the proximate extremities of segmental flanges 36 and 38. In view of the considerable diameter of the cover 20, which will normally be of the order of about 6 inches, turning force may be applied to the cover 20 through an operators hand engaging convex face 60 thereof to turn the cover until the ears 66 and 68 have passed along inclined under-surfaces 42 of flanges 36 and 38 and arrived at a stopping abutment against flanges 40. During travel of the ears 66 and 68 across the sloping under-surfaces 42, the cover 20 will have been drawn down upon keg 10 to deform resilient portion 50 of cover 20 to bring edge 48 of cover 20 into sealing relationship with head 24. If desired, a revenue stamp or the like may then be emplaced across the cover 20 and adjacent portions 20 of the head 24.

When it is desired to withdraw the contents of the keg 10, the cover 20 is counter-rotated until ears 66 and 68 align with the spaces between the extremities of segmental flanges 36 and 38 and the cover 20 is then simply lifted from the keg 10. As above noted, the covers 20 may be saved for re-use or utilized as bar ash trays or the like.

It will now be evident that the above described structure contemplated by this invention is ideally suited for accomplishing all of the above mentioned and other objects of the invention. It will be equally manifest to those skilled in the art, however, that certain minor modifications or changes could be made from the exact structure described for purposes of illustration without materially departing from the true spirit and intention of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the invention shall be deemed limited only by the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

For use in covering the tap opening of a beer keg having a convex top surface provided with an annular, central recess therein Within which is disposed a tubular, upwardly extending, tap stub pipe having a pair of external, undercut, segmental flanges thereon, removable cover structure comprising: a unitary, relatively thin, imperforate, resilient, metallic plate having a flat, circular, central portion adapted to overlie said pipe, an annular, band portion extending downwardly from the outer margin of the central portion adapted to circumseribe an upper part of said pipe including said flanges, an embossed car on the band portion for each of said flanges respectively extending inwardly from the band portion and adapted for releasable, holding engagement with the underside of the corresponding flanges when the structure is in one rotational position relative to the keg, an annular flange portion of arcuate cross-section extending outwardly and upwardly from the lower margin of the band portion adapted to extend above the top of said recess, and an annular, concavo-convex portion extending outwardly and downwardly from the upper margin of the flange portion adapted to cover a corresponding part of said surface, the radius of curvature of the concave-convex portion being less than the radius of curvature of said part of the surface adapting the outer margin of the concave-convex portion for tight sealing engagement with the surface in circumscribing relationship to said recess.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,081,281 Tyler Dec. 9, 1913 1,994,991 Gabriel et al Mar. 19, 1935 2,131,632 Lindell Sept. 27, 1938 2,193,318 Floyd Mar. 12, 1940 2,271,943 Klein et al. Feb. 3, 1942 

